Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans!
Hey everyone! Through a burst of motivation I was able to complete this chapter in a manner of days. Please enjoy!
Chapter 14
He looked at Kyd Wykkyd who nodded his head and opened a portal back to Titans Tower.
Everyone ended up in a very full and very quiet Common Room. All of the Titans were there, along with Billy and Gizmo.
As the portal closed, Cyborg picked up the unconscious Angel bridal style. "Come on Wykkyd; let's take your girlfriend to the Medical Bay. She can rest up there." Kyd Wykkyd nodded and quickly followed Cyborg out of the room.
Bumblebee walked across the room with her arms crossed, along with Starfire who flew over worriedly. Even the villains were silent as the two approached Robin. Bumblebee was the first one to speak. "Robin, we have a problem. The Collector sent us a message."
"We know." Robin replied. "That message showed up on every T.V. in Jump City."
Bumblebee was about to say something else when she glanced over Robin's shoulder. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and said, "What are these guys doing here?"
Robin turned to gesture at the villains. "I know it may seem strange, but these guys have agreed to help us out. I know some of you have grudges," this was aimed at Beast Boy and Adonis in particular, "but we need to set those aside for now. Until we get out of this, consider them teammates." He glared at the villains. "And you need to remember your promises. Break the law even once and I'll kick you out of the Tower. Understand?"
"Yeah yeah, we get it." Johnny growled.
Red X smirked underneath his mask and decided to pursue his favorite pastime: getting underneath Robin's skin. "So does this make us 'Honorary Titans'?" he teased.
Robin gritted his teeth. "Don't press your luck." Everyone got a good laugh out of that and the tension in the room seemed to lessen slightly.
As Beast Boy laughed, Starfire walked up to him worriedly. He stopped laughing and was about to ask her what was wrong, when she suddenly grabbed his head and started turning it in…painful directions. "Uh, Star? What are you doing?" he asked. His eyes watered when he felt his neck pop...several times.
Starfire continued examining his head and said, "I am checking to make sure nothing is amiss."
Beast Boy wrenched his head out of Starfire's grasp and rubbed his sore neck. "What are you talking about?"
The Tameranian looked at him nervously and clasped her hands together. "Well the Collector is using the mind control yes? I am worried because during our fight with the Mad Mod it was proven that you are most susceptible to such things."
Beast Boy groaned. "Do you really have to bring that up? I'm fine! It just took me by surprise that time." He said indignantly.
"Yup," Raven muttered, "took you by surprise five times." Beast Boy huffed and crossed his arms.
"Alright everyone, let's break this up. I want you all to rest up and hit the training room a little." Robin said. "This isn't a vacation so we need to stay sharp. We'll discuss later about teams and a plan of action."
The rest of the day went by without incident. The city stayed quiet without even a car alarm going off. But the more time that passed, the more worried everyone became. They tried to distract themselves by doing various things. They had to clear out two of the storage rooms so the villains could have rooms too sleep in (And because nobody besides Johnny was willing to share a room with Adonis); Leaving one room for Angel, Cheshire, and Kitten to share and another for Johnny and Adonis. Beast Boy and Cyborg managed to find some spare cots, mattresses, and blankets as they were cleaning the new rooms, so the villains weren't too bad off.
After they had dinner, (consisting of leftover pizza and whatever they could find in the fridge) Robin gathered everyone to make teams. Starting the next day, he wanted groups to scout the city for people who weren't under control and possible ways to exit the city. The room was gloomy as Robin told them this. Even though he tried to sound optimistic, everyone knew what they were really doing: confirming that the entire city had turned against them. Not even the villains could be optimistic about it.
Robin himself would lead a group consisting of Kyd Wykkyd, Herald, Alistor, Raven, and Red X to the edge of the city. Even if it was just to the other side of the barrier, he wanted to know if any of them could leave the city.
"Alistor, I want you to keep a close eye on everything." Robin said to the mage. "Since your magic is powering this thing, you might be able to figure something out about it."
"Very well then." Alistor replied.
Robin nodded his head and addressed the entire room. "Okay everyone, we have a big day tomorrow so let's get some sleep." Everyone started heading to their bedrooms when Robin called out, "Raven. Alistor. I'd actually like to have an extra word with you." The two mentioned Titans looked at each other before walking over to their leader while everyone else filed out of the room.
Once they were alone, Robin looked at the two seriously. "I have something I want to ask you two."
"And what would that be?" Alistor asked questioningly. Raven just waited for Robin to continue.
Robin decided to get straight to the point. "I want you to keep an eye on the kids."
Alistor raised an eyebrow. "You mean Melvin, Timmy, and Teether correct?"
Robin nodded his head. " Since they sleep in your rooms and you both know magic, I thought it would be best to ask you two to do this. They're still really young and I'm worried that the spell will have more of a hold on them because of it."
"I've been worried about that." Raven said in monotone. "I'm going to start researching ways to help shield their minds."
Robin nodded as Alistor spoke up. "While I do have defensive spells to shield the body, unfortunately I lack any that shield the mind." He admitted. "I'll most certainly keep an eye on Teether at night, but I won't have any means of helping if the spell takes hold."
Raven suddenly turned and headed to the door. "Where are you going?" Robin asked.
Raven stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "To bed. None of us will be of any use if we're tired in the morning." In truth, she was very worried about the kids. Melvin and Timmy were probably waiting for her in her room and she wanted to put them in bed. The two watched as she left the room.
"Well then." Alistor said, adjusting his hat. "Good night Robin."
Alistor turned to leave while Robin crossed his arms. "Wait." He said.
Alistor turned and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" he asked.
"There's…actually someone else I'd like you to watch." Robin said awkwardly.
"Oh? And who might that be?"
Robin hesitated and Alistor could tell he was having an inner battle with himself so he let the silence go on without interruption. Finally, he sighed and said, "It's Beast Boy."
Alistor's eyebrow shot into his hair. He removed his hat and ran a hand across the brim. "Shouldn't we be talking to Raven about this?"
Robin shook his head. "She would argue against it. She tries to hide it but she's really protective of him." He sighed. "I really want to trust Beast Boy but his record is against him. Starfire was right earlier, he's too easily hypnotized.
Alistor clenched his hat. "You're putting me in an awkward position Robin." He said slowly. "You're basically asking me to spy on my friend. And not just any friend; the first friend I ever made."
Robin looked at him with pleading eyes. "I'm not asking you to invade his privacy or anything, just watch him like you are with Teether. You used to be an Observer, so you'll probably be the first one to notice subtle changes in his behavior."
Alistor put his hat back on and adjusted it so it covered his eyes. "It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, but I'll do it. But know that if it weren't for the current circumstances I would refuse you."
Robin sighed in relief. But his relief was short lived when he took one look at Alistor's sour face. "There is a reason I'm being so precautious with Beast Boy." Alistor remained silent so Robin decided to continue. "Back before we recruited the Honorary Titans, the Puppet King attacked us. He managed to take control of our bodies by trapping our souls inside puppets. The only ones that managed to escape were Starfire and Raven. The two of them managed to stop the Puppet King, but not before he proved that he could control our bodies at will; including Beast Boy's changing abilities." Robin looked at Alistor, who still hadn't moved. "The reason I'm telling you all of this is because things have changed for Beast Boy since then." He left Alistor there and headed for the door. Right before he left, he glanced at Alistor over his shoulder. "When you get the chance, I want you to ask Beast Boy about 'The Beast'." That said, he left the room.
Alistor was confused by Robin's words but decided to shrug it off until morning. He decided to take Robin's advice and talk to Beast Boy when he got the chance. Plus, even though Robin ordered him to watch Beast Boy, he didn't say he couldn't tell Beast Boy about it.
He decided to leave the room and was surprised to find Speedy leaning against the wall in the hallway. Alistor sighed. "You heard everything didn't you?" he asked.
"Yeah." Speedy replied. "Robin was so worked up he didn't even notice me here."
There was a moment of awkward silence before Alistor said, "Please don't tell anyone. I feel bad enough without the others knowing."
Speedy shrugged before heading down the hall. "I won't tell if you won't tell."
Alistor smirked. "You really need to be more discrete if you don't want anyone learning of your nightly wanderings." He called to the archer. Speedy smirked right back before rounding the corner.
Alistor shook his head in amusement before heading to Beast Boy's room. He found Beast Boy and Teether both snoring softly with the blankets down at Beast Boy's feet again. He chuckled quietly and pulled up the blankets so they covered the two again. Setting his hat and staff on the dresser, he removed his cape and climbed up the latter to the top bunk.
"It all starts tomorrow." He said. Closing his eyes, he fell into a fitful sleep.
After rounding the corner, Speedy waited silently in the shadows until Alistor left. Once he was sure he was alone, he walked back down the hallway and into the Common Room. Sitting on the couch, he settled himself down for a wait.
While he waited, Speedy pulled out a note that said, 'Same room as last time.' He reread the note and smiled to himself. Without even knowing when it happened, Speedy had found the note in his pocket after dinner. He wondered how long he would be able to keep this up. Back at Titans East it was much easier, but here under the current circumstances, things would be much more difficult. They had met in this room the previous night and he almost had a heart attack when he'd seen Raven leaving Beast Boy's room. Luckily she hadn't noticed him, but if things kept up they would eventually get caught. The other problem was Alistor. He already suspected what Speedy was doing, but luckily he A: didn't know who it was with and B: was willing to give him his privacy. Speedy almost laughed as he imagined at what Alistor's reaction would be if he found out.
He was interrupted from his thoughts when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck and a head rest on his shoulder. He smiled. "What took you so long?" He asked surprisingly lovingly.
There was a giggle before the owner of the laugh jumped over the couch and landed next to Speedy, revealing Cheshire. "Sorry but Kitten wouldn't shut up and go to sleep. I had to knock her out with sleeping poison before I could leave." She said amusingly. Taking his head in both hands, she leaned forward and gave him a passionate kiss, which he gladly returned.
When they finally parted for air, Cheshire snuggled up to Speedy's side. He smiled and ran a hand through her dark hair. "You know I'll get in serious trouble if Robin catches us right?"
Cheshire smiled. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides," she leaned up until their lips were almost touching, "I know you don't want to stop." She said before pulling him into another kiss. Speedy could honestly say he couldn't agree more.
I hope you all liked it! I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter! :)
The one day of rest has ended. What will the Collector do next? And how will the Titans react? Next time in Chapter 15!
Read and Review please!